Summer tomato farming in Barind area undertaken

RAJSHAHI, May 19 (BSS): The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has launched the cultivation process of summer tomato on the dried Barind land for the first time creating a high hope among the farmers alongside others concerned. According to sources concerned, the DAE has set a target of bringing around six bigha of land under the cultivation of hybrid (BARI-4) tomato variety in some areas under Godagari Upazila of the district. Upazila Agriculture Officer Saiful Islam told the news agency that the farmers used to cultivate advanced variety tomato in winter usually everywhere in the region for the last couple of years but attempt to the summer variety farming is the first in the region. He informed that three farmers-Ataur Rahman, Ashraf Hossain and Mainul Islam- established seedbeds and the seedlings transplantation will start from the first day of June next. In this regard, he said the Upazila agriculture office has been extending all-out cooperation to the farmers to make the off-season vegetable farming effort a total success. He expected that the tomato will appear in the market by July-August next after around 60 days of seedling transplantation. "A new horizon will be created in the vegetable farming as well as among the farmers in the region if the effort is successful," Saiful Islam said. Likewise, he said yield of the variety might hit around 80 tonnes per hectare if proper care and nursing including hormone spray are maintained. Saiful Islam said nearly 70 per cent tomatoes of the country are supplied from Godagari during the winter. For the last 12 years, farmers of Godagari have been cultivating tomato successfully and thousands of farmers of this Upazila rely on the tomato farming. Considering the demand and nutritional values of the vegetable, the Horticulture Research Center of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) evolved the variety in 1996 after a relentless research effort, said Dr Shahabuddin Ahmed, Principal Scientific Officer. Its farming has gained momentum in different areas of the country including Jessore and the farmers are being benefited significantly. Referring to the salient features of the variety he said it is tolerant to high temperature and equal to the winter varieties in size, taste and flavor. Besides, its preservation capacity is sufficient in normal temperature. He, however, said the farmers should be more careful and attentive about protecting the plant from the monsoonal rainfall. Dr Shahabuddin said the BARI has been working relentlessly for boosting production of quality seed of various vegetables alongside transferring those among the farmers level every year. Expressing his happiness over multiplication of the BARI Tomato-4 seed farmer Ataur Rahman said if the hybrid seed were supplied among the farmers adequately and in due time the farmers would able to boost the off-season farm production absolutely.